Chris Cornell’s Widow Says Death Probe Led to ‘Vile’ Conspiracies

Vicky Cornell said the “botched investigation” into the death of her husband, Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, has exposed her family to “vile” conspiracy theories.

Cornell died on May 18, 2017, and his death was ruled a suicide. However, Vicky has continued to argue that prescription pills with known side-effects contributed to his state of mind at the time, insisting that he “wanted to be there for his family, for his children” and that “he would never have ever left this world.”

In a new interview with the Detroit News, she said the “botched investigation” led to “all sorts of false accusations and subjected me to constant online attacks.” “This has left me and my family still looking for answers, but at the same time, set off this whirlwind of conspiracies," she said. "Some of the people are just fans looking for answers, but some of them are conspiracy theorists who have said the most vile things to my children and me.”

She focused on the autopsy report statement that “drugs did not contribute to the cause of death." “The poor choice of phrasing has misled the public to believing he was of sound mind and body," she noted. "So some conspiracy people think if Chris wasn’t impaired, [and because] he would never have killed himself, and so he must have been killed — and then they start getting into the rest of the holes.”

A report commissioned by Vicky’s legal team, compiled by a pathology expert, concluded that “there is clear evidence of drug ingestion leading to impaired behavior” and that the amount of drugs involved “would impair mental and motor function individually, but have much more powerful effects when found in combination.” The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office, which carried out the autopsy, said last year that it stood by its report.

“This is real life," Vicky said in the new interview. "We’re not characters in some film. I lost my husband. My children lost their father. We’re in a lot of pain, and we have to deal with these people coming after us. If the autopsy report was thorough, I believe some of this could have been avoided.”

Cornell’s family and friends will take part in a vigil ceremony scheduled for tonight to mark the anniversary of his death. Vicky previously asked fans around the world to “light a candle, say a prayer, speak his name” and offer “Loud Love” in his memory.